Dwyer High Students Protest For Principal

April 23, 1993|By DEBBIE CENZIPER, Education Writer

More than 100 Dwyer High School students defied administrators and police on Thursday when they cut classes and camped out on the school`s front lawn to protest the charges filed against their principal.

Students said they would risk possible suspensions because they say their principal has been accused unfairly of wrongdoing. They spent the day in the sun, planning for a larger protest today and warily watching school and city police officers guarding the building.

``Our principal is like a father figure to us,`` said sophomore Marc Boutiron. ``They`re not treating him right to take his job away. I was always taught that I should stand up for something I believe in.``

Principal Douglas Long, 50, was charged on Wednesday with failing to report suspected child abuse by one of his teachers in the Palm Beach Gardens school. The school district sent Long home with pay until more information is gathered.

The accusation stems from the arrest last week of Thomas Lucky, 30, a teacher and coach, who was charged with six counts of sexual activity with a child while in an authority position and one count of soliciting to have sex with a child.

According to the State Attorney`s Office, Long was told several times about possible sexual activity involving a teacher and one or more students but took no action. Under the law, anyone who suspects child abuse must report it to the state.

Officials from the State Attorney`s Office stopped by Long`s office on Thursday and left with a paper bag full of evidence that included desk calendars and a bundle of telephone messages. According to a search warrant affidavit, Long was told of the allegations by teachers and an aunt of one of the alleged victims.

The aunt remembered Long took notes of the meeting on a desk calendar.

The district is waiting for information from the state before deciding if Long will be allowed back in school. The district also is investigating to determine if anyone else violated administrative policy.

In the meantime, officials say they have not decided if the protesting students will be punished.

Students on Thursday complained police would not let them in or out of the building. Some said they jumped a fence to get outside.

During the daylong protest, a student`s guardian stopped by the school to give a presentation but said she couldn`t get through the front door because police officers stopped her. Instead, Barbara Guncheon spent the day advising the students outside.

The protest reached a boiling point when a school police officer told Guncheon several times to leave campus. She refused to go and the police finally left her alone.

``From what I understand, Mr. Long has been made a scapegoat,`` she said. ``So I told these children as long as they stay cool and organized, they are acting within their rights. And the hell with Mr. Lucky. It looks like his luck may have run out.``